PHILADELPHIA -- In one week the 76ers will be flying to Orlando, where they open the regular season against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Magic.

The 7-footer in the middle with whom they'll have to contend won't be low-rent Superman impersonator Brendan Haywood, it will be the actual Superman, Dwight Howard. The point guard won't be just-fine Big 5 alum Randy Foye, it will be All-Star floor leader Jameer Nelson.

However, the Sixers and the other NBA teams can only hope that reports that the league and the referees' union are close to an agreement are true. Because if for some reason the discussions collapse, then the same collection of pro rejects and mid-major collegiate wannabes that worked Tuesday night's 90-89 Wizards victory over the Sixers will be holding the whistles when the ball goes skyward for the opening jump in Florida.

It remains to be seen whether the Sixers are ready to compete with the Magic. As for the scab refs, the question isn't so much about whether they would be a catastrophe, but rather which category of disaster they will be on a nightly basis.

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For 47 minutes, 59 seconds, the refs weren't terrific, but they at least were equally subpar. However, it was in the final tick on the Wachovia Center clock that they ticked off the Sixers.

The Sixers were leading, 89-88, with that sole second remaining after Willie Green made the back end of two free throws he earned when he got clobbered by Nick Young after getting the Washington guard in the air with a pump fake. That gave the Wizards a final shot, one that Mike James missed from 30 feet as the buzzer sounded.

Confetti flew ... but just before that, a whistle blew. Green was called for a foul on the shot, although replays showed that any contact was well after the shot was gone and incidental, at worst.

Since the NBA police have an itchy trigger when it comes to firing fines at players and coaches if they dare offer unkind words for the replacement refs, there was more to take from the facial expressions when the Sixers were asked what their comfort level was with dealing with the substandard refs in real games.

"It's the preseason," coach Eddie Jordan said with a wry smirk. "We're all a little bit rusty."

"It's the preseason," Green said, "and it's a good time for everyone to get the rust off."

Green is hoping he won't have to stay with that adjective for long. But at least when the clock ran out he tried to make sense of what went down.

"It wasn't a situation where I was going to be upset with the ref or anything. They're trying their best," Green said. "I went up to him to the ref and asked what he thought about the call, and he said, 'I thought it was a foul, but you know what, I shouldn't have made that call (because it didn't affect the shot.)'

"It's an adjustment for everybody. It's an adjustment for the players, for the referees ... it's not as easy as it looks. We just have to go with the flow."

Lost amid the absurd ending was another solid performance by some of the bench players, as Mareese Speights (14 points, eight rebounds), Jason Smith (11 points, five rebounds) and Jason Kapono (eight points) fueled a fourth-quarter rally that erased an eight-point deficit.

Speights, the Sixers' second-leading scorer in the preseason, put his team ahead 88-86 with 43.9 seconds remaining with a left-handed hook shot that even Jordan, who has been sparse with his praise of the second-year forward as he tries to get him to be more dedicated at the defensive end, marveled over.

"That left-handed hook was just ... if he can do that, that's a really high level there," Jordan said.

Smith, meanwhile, missed five of his first six shots, but Jordan stuck with the 7-footer and he responded by making four straight shots in a 31/2-minute span midway through the final quarter, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key that stopped a 9-0 flurry by the Wizards.

"You need to have confidence," Jordan said of his decision to stick with Smith. "I'm happy with his confidence level ... you need to have an ego, you need to take an open shot. The fact that he came through and made some shots was big."

"He lets us go out and play, and I really appreciate the faith he has in me," Smith said.

While Bruce Springsteen was bringing the juice across the parking lot at the Spectrum, the Sixers played much of the first three quarters as if their trip to Mexico left them squeezed as dry as a spent slice of lime in a conquered Corona.

The starters got out to a 15-6 lead, but quickly hit a wall as the Wizards responded with a 14-2 run during which the Sixers made just one shot in an eight-minute span. Washington had a 39-34 lead at the half, the Sixers' lowest one-half output of the preseason.

It was another rough night for Elton Brand (four points, two rebounds in 23 minutes), who after playing very well against the Knicks last week has had three straight lackluster performances.

That is one of many worries that will have to be gauged under the Orlando lights in eight days.

"There's a lot of work that we need to do," Green said. "We're happy with where we are, but we're not satisfied. Those are the things that practice time and the next preseason game will help us with -- getting organized on the floor and sustaining our energy for 48 minutes."

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NOTES: The broadcasters have been relocated behind Sect. 112 this season so that the midcourt seats between the benches can be sold. A source said that the seat next to public-address announcer Matt Cord has a price tag of $35,000 for the season ... Donyell Marshall, who retired after playing his final NBA season with the Sixers, will join former Villanova guard John Celestand for Comcast SportsNet's postgame shows this year ... Brandon Bowman and Dionte Christmas, both of whom are trying to convince the Sixers to keep them on the roster, didn't play against the Wizards.